


The Last Interrogation

by fiery_flamingo



Series: Dark Arts Drabbles- Round Three [2]
Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Community: darkarts_ldws, Drabble, Gen, dark!fic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-04-18
Updated: 2012-04-18
Packaged: 2017-11-03 20:42:57
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 486
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/385728
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/fiery_flamingo/pseuds/fiery_flamingo
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>There's one more thing Moody has to do before retiring.</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Last Interrogation

It takes three Aurors to question a suspect through Veritaserum. The Ministry would have you believe that this is for the suspect's safety, to insure that nothing “untoward” happens. This is poppycock. In reality, it takes that many men to administer a dose to an unwilling person. One pulls back the head and plugs the nose, the second pries open the jaw, the third pours the potion down the throat and does the questioning. It's as simple as that.

Alastor Moody has interrogated thirty-four suspects with the Veritaserum potion in his career, the majority of those between the years of 1976 and 1981.

This will be his last interrogation before being forced into retirement.

Moody knows Veritaserum, knows it as well as any man not a potions master can. He's learned through experience; never trust a potion you haven't tried on yourself or some hapless fool. He knows no one will ever spit out Veritaserum; tasteless and odorless it may be, but it's only as tasteless as the purest water you've ever drank, quenching a throat you didn't realize was parched. It makes you want more.

There's an antidote that Moody carries on him at all times. But it's only useful if you can get vial to lips and here, in a Ministry interrogation room, that's as likely as finding Merlin's face on toast.

So, when he slips the droplets past the lips—and the fingers holding those lips open—of the prisoner, he's confident the truth will spill from the boy like smooth stones.

“Let's start with something easy, shall we? What's the year of your birth?”

“1963.” The answer comes without pause. Moody's wreckage of a face twists into a grin at the panic in the prisoner's eyes. The panic that comes with the knowledge that his mouth was no longer filtered through his brain.

“And a piss poor year it was.” He checks that the Dicta-Quill is recording properly. “For the record, what's your full name?”

“Bartemius Crouch Jr.”

“So, Barty, what's your feeling on Muggles?”

“They're the scum of the earth, tainting our blood and overpopulating the world like rats. They should either bow to wizards or die.”

“Well done, very concise.” He pauses, readying the next question. “Now, tell me about what you and your friends did to Frank and Alice Longbottom.”

The Veritaserum does it's job and so the whole gruesome tale comes out as calm and steady as if they were discussing the weather. When it's over, Moody knows it's enough to put Barty away for a very long time. But this is his last interrogation and Frank and Alice had been Aurors, two of their own.

He puts away the Dicta-Quill slowly before speaking. “We appreciate your honesty, Barty.” Then he nods at the other two Aurors. “Nothing a Healing Charm can't fix.”

The Ministry does not put three Aurors in a Veritaserum interrogation for the suspect's safety.

**Author's Note:**

> This was written for Week Two of [darkarts_ldws](http://darkarts-ldws.livejournal.com)' Third Round of competition in 2011. Prompts were _Alastor Moody_ and _Veritaserum_. I won this particular week.


End file.
